The pandemic created a unique scenario for the Lightning, they’d be playing for the championship without fans, in a “bubble” in another country, thousands of miles away.

Our existing “Distant Thunder” campaign tells stories of how fans, living thousands of miles from Tampa Bay, still find ways to Be The Thunder. Now, with the new playoff format, we were about to discover what the “Distant Thunder” has known all along. No matter the distance, nothing can separate Lightning and Thunder. We needed all Lightning fans, even those in right here in Tampa Bay, to… Be The Distant Thunder.

Our challenge was twofold: to engage fans when they couldn’t attend any games in person and to show support to those back home on the front lines of the pandemic. And with a small budget, this idea needed to be inexpensive with strong earned media potential.

At NHL games, fans and players have always been separated by a plexiglass barrier. With COVID’s impact, the whole community was now separated by plexiglass barriers. Hockey fans and players know more than anyone that these barriers are simply physical. That plexiglass stands no chance against passion and dedication. The idea of using hockey plexiglass, beyond just a barrier, but also as a bridge was perfect for the times. We’d have fans sign a piece of plexiglass with messages of support which would be installed on the ice rink in Toronto for playoff games. And players would sign another piece of glass with messages of thanks and encouragement which would remain in Tampa and be placed in a local hospital’s ER as a protective barrier for the healthcare workers. Two pieces of glass. Each with their own powerful message.

The strategy behind this campaign was built upon the premise of ‘apart but never absent.’ And every team in every major sport was facing this same problem – how do you make fans part of the game, when they couldn’t be part of the game? But hockey had something no other sport had. And that thing was having quite a moment in 2020. Hockey had plexiglass. So we took the very thing that separates hockey players and fans and used it to bring them all closer together. This glass was to be a physical reminder for both fans and frontline workers that “we don’t have to be with you, to be with you.”

Through the Lightning’s social channels, we put out a ‘call for signatures’ inviting fans to come to the arena to sign messages of support directly on the glass for two days in July. Reservations for time slots to sign the glass “sold out” within the first thirty minutes of the post going live. The glass quickly filled up with messages covering nearly every square inch. That glass was then crated and shipped to Toronto, the hub city. Working remotely with the NHL, we were able to install the fan-signed glass on the rink during playoff games.

And before the team left, the players signed a second piece of glass with messages of support to frontline medical workers. That glass was installed in a local hospital’s ER both as a protective barrier and a physical reminder of the Lightning’s support.

The campaign ran from July 13, 2020 through September 28, 2020.

The campaign had 53.7 million impressions and over $110,000 in earned media. The Lightning experienced a 33% fan growth locally and a 19% fan growth nationally. The team added over 81,000 new followers/subscribers across their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube social channels. Positive Buzz about the Tampa Bay Lightning grew 25% locally & 11% nationally while Word of Mouth about the Tampa Bay Lightning grew 15% locally.